Restaurant Review
08 Dec 2008

Café Beaujolais – Los Angeles (Eagle Rock)

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Even though my mom doesn’t remember my birthday (she gets confused between the 7th and the 9th), I still insist on remembering hers (the 7th). My mom celebrated the big 5-6 with The Astronomer and me at Eagle Rock’s Café Beaujolais. My treat, of course!

Café Beaujolais is open for dinner only and does not take reservations for small parties. Because we dined on a Friday night during peak chowing hours, we waited 45 minutes for a table to open up. To pass the time away, we chatted with a local couple who have been dining at Café Beaujolais for years. Their excitement about the food was contagious.

I chose Café Beaujolais for my mom’s birthday dinner after reading some major swoonage on Yelp and Chowhound. According to Yelpers, the food was comparable to Parisian bistros and the French waiters provided some nice eye candy too. When I turn 56, I hope that I am whisked to a restaurant manned by French hotties to celebrate.

The waiters were indeed gorgeous—I felt like I was at a Hooters catering to straight women and gay men. The Astronomer was good-humored about the ogling. I’m not self-conscious about photographing my dinner, but I couldn’t bring myself to take happy snaps of the waiters. Sorry, readers.

In stark contrast to the hot waiters was the ice cold bread. Yelpers warned me that the bread at Café Beaujolais was lacking, and unfortunately they were spot on. The uninspiring white bread was served with equally frigid butter. It’s funny how bad bread is less disappointing when proper warning is given.

My mom started her birthday feast with an order of Escargots de Bourgogne ($7.95), which were served in a shallow porcelain dish with perfect snail-sized indents. The freshly baked escargots were drenched in a savory butter and garlic sauce. The Astronomer and I fished out a couple of snails to taste and they were Awesome with a capital A.

For our appetizer, The Astronomer and I split the soup of the day—a carrot and ginger creation ($5.95). The brilliantly bright orange soup was smooth, subtly sweet and a bit spicy from the ginger. The fresh and light soup was an excellent note to start a heavy French meal on.

Heeding the advice of the regulars whom we chatted with earlier, my mom ordered the Le Fletan au Champagne ($22.95) for her main, which consisted of a fillet of halibut in a champagne sauce with a Parmesan crust topped with candied orange zest. The fish was light and flaky, while the champagne sauce was rich and creamy. The salty cheese crust and sweet candied zest kept the creaminess properly in check.

The Astronomer chose the Carre d’agneau dan son jus ($22.95), oven-baked rack of lamb in its own juice. The lamb arrived medium rare, just as The Astronomer requested. Rack of lamb is a special treat because eating meat like lollipops has a caveman appeal that I can’t deny. The simply and deliciously executed lamb was evidence that with good technique and high-quality ingredients, bells and whistles are completely unnecessary.

For my main, I went with the Magret de canard au miel et citron ($19.95), duck breast with lemon and honey sweet and sour sauce. This dish was another example of great ingredients prepared deftly. The duck was moist and flavorful, and the sauce kept things interesting. I would have appreciated a sprinkling of candied orange zest upon my duck, but had to settle for stealing my mom’s.

In true French fashion, all of our mains were served with with a selection of vegetables—steamed baby zucchini, half a baked tomato topped with bread crumbs and potatoes au gratin. My favorite was the potato au gratin, which consisted of paper-thin potato slices baked in an insanely rich and decadent cheese and cream sauce. [Here’s an excellent recipe for Old-Fashioned Potato Gratin by Chef Frank Sitt.] Long live the French!

For dessert, we shared the evening’s special—a lemon curd tart. Great crust? Check. Great filling? Check. Full and happy bellies? Check and check. Happy Birthday, Mom!

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Café Beaujolais
1712 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Phone: 323-255-5111

Cafe Beaujolais on Urbanspoon

Cafe Beaujolais in Los Angeles

Recipe
06 Dec 2008

No-Stir Butternut Squash, Rosemary & Blue Cheese Risotto

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While I’ve consumed a good amount of butternut squash in my day, this is my first attempt at cooking with it. What’s great about this recipe is that the risotto achieves a creamy consistency without laborious stirring. Hallelujah! The original recipe calls for blue cheese, but The Astronomer and I actually preferred our risotto without because it overpowered the subtle rosemary and squash flavors. I recommend you try it both ways to see what suits your palate.

  • 7 cups (or more) chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion
  • 1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch dice (about 3 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
  • 2 cups arborio rice (about 13 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 4 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves (about 4 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)

Bring 7 cups broth to boil in large saucepan. Cover and reduce heat to low.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add squash and 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary; sauté 4 minutes to coat with butter.

Add rice and stir 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 7 cups hot broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy and slightly soupy, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed to maintain consistency and stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Stir in spinach, and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer risotto to large bowl. Sprinkle with blue cheese and remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Adapted from Bon Appétit, February 2005. [For Printable Recipe Click Here]

Los Angeles
05 Dec 2008

Vegetation Profile: Butternut Squash

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Butternut, like the other winter squashes, has a lot more to offer nutritionally speaking than summer squashes and zucchini. Butternut’s deep-orange flesh is richer in complex carbohydrates and, as you might guess by its color, in beta-carotene. Butternut squash is also a very good source of dietary fiber, and supplies vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, and a good amount of potassium.

Butternut squashes range from about two to four pounds in weight. The squash rind should be uniformly tan, with no tinge of green. The rind should be smooth and dry, free of cracks or soft spots. Also, the rind should be dull; a shiny rind indicates that the squash was picked too early, and will not have the full sweetness of a mature specimen.

I went to the grocery store the other day with an itemized list of things to buy. Even though butternut squash wasn’t on my list, I left the store with two in hand. Culinary curiosity often supersedes culinary practicality. I’m normally not much of an impulse shopper, but the temperature in Pasadena dipped into the frigid fifties this past week, and I had to mark the rare occasion with some genuine autumnal produce. In Southern California, cooks must act fast when preparing seasonal dishes because eighty degrees seems to always be lurking around the corner.